Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Lyle Denny died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 in a confirmed exposure while on duty.
Sergeant Denny had served in law enforcement for 42 years and was the School Resource Officer for Panhandle High School.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Sergeant Lyle Gene Denny died on December 7, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 66.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, daughter, two granddaughters, brother, and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-F883504D- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Sergeant Denny gave the Panhandle Police Department 42 years.
Thank you for your service to the Panhandle community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Denny.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Lyle Gene Denny is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 204 of 2,421 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lyle Gene Denny's cause is highlighted.
How Lyle Gene Denny Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Lyle Gene Denny is highlighted in Dec.